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Florida Governor

Cable news networks spent just 12 minutes covering the revelation that Jeb Bush waited seven years to comply with a Florida law requiring him to turn over his private email correspondence, while the same networks devoted hours to reports about Hillary Clinton’s use of private email when she served as secretary of state.

New Questions Arise About Bush’s Use Of Private Email While Florida Governor

NY Times: Bush Waited Seven Years To Comply With A Florida Statute Requiring Him To Turn In His Private Emails. On March 13, The New York Times reported that Bush used a private email account while serving as governor of Florida and that he waited “seven years after leaving office to comply fully with a Florida public records statute requiring him to turn over emails.” [The New York Times, 3/13/15]

Wash. Post: Jeb Bush Used A Private Email Account To “Discuss Security” And “Troop Deployments.” According to a March 14 report from The Washington Post, Bush “used his private email account as Florida governor to discuss security and military issues such as troop deployments to the Middle East and the protection of nuclear plants, according to a review of publicly released records.” [The Washington Post, 3/14/15]

Cable News Covered Bush Emails For 12 Minutes, While They Covered Clinton Emails For Nearly Five Hours. On March 16, the first weekday after reports broke that Bush took years to turn over his emails, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News devoted 12 minutes and 22 seconds to the story. Meanwhile, on March 3, the day after The New York Times reported that Clinton had used a private email address while secretary of state, the three networks spent four hours and 49 minutes discussing the story:

Methodology

Media Matters searched internal databases of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News programming from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on March 3 for “Clinton and (email or e-mail),” and on March 16 for “Bush and (email or e-mail).” Full segments, mentions, and teases were included.

A PPP poll of registered voters released today shows that in a hypothetical re-do of last year’s gubernatorial election, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) would lose to Democrat Alex Sink by a nearly 20-point margin, 56%-37%. Scott won a squeaker of an election last year, edging out Sink by about one point.

Aside from engendering a heaping share of bipartisan ill will, Florida’s governor has revealed himself to be the person we warned you he was: the exemplar of a serial fraudster. The end result has molded Scott, in a very short time, into one of the most politically isolated governors in America.

For future reference, here are some ways that you can tell if your state’s governor is some sort of appalling grifter. Continue reading…